Report Launch on May 31, 2012
Universities Through the Looking Glass: Benchmarking University Governance
to Enable Higher Education Modernization in MENA
A new tool for measuring governance is helping universities in the Middle East and North Africa
(MENA) region develop reforms that will allow them to be both more responsive to the needs of
young people and become the sources of knowledge and innovation that will drive future
growth. The University Governance Screening Card enables MENA universities to compare
themselves with international standards and to define their own unique set of goals and
establish benchmarks to assess the progress in achieving them.
In the wake of the global crisis and the Arab Spring, young people in MENA are demanding
change. In particular they seek better opportunities to study and work, challenging universities
and governments to improve their options for higher education.
University governance has been a recent focus of tertiary education reform worldwide. It is
particularly relevant in MENA given the region wide demand for more responsive and
accountable institutions. University governance addresses how universities and higher
education systems define and implement their goals, manage their institutions, and monitor
their achievements. There is a broad consensus on the role of governance in improving
education quality, especially in MENA, where higher education representatives have expressed
a specific need for a benchmarking tool.
In response to this call, the World Bank, in partnership with the Marseille Center for
Mediterranean Integration, developed the Screening Card, an innovative benchmarking tool
that was derived from a series of good practice assessment tools used in OECD countries. The
tool acknowledges that there is no single model of “good governance” and that the contexts
within which universities operate determine their best practice. First implemented in 41
universities from four countries (Egypt, Morocco, Palestine, and Tunisia), the Screening Card is
now being implemented in three additional countries in the region (Algeria, Iraq, and Lebanon),
and universities from across the world have expressed an interest in joining the program.
The team prepared a report entitled “Universities Through the Looking Glass:
Benchmarking University Governance to Enable Higher Education Modernization in
MENA” following the initial implementation and subsequent data analysis and validation. The
report discusses the conceptual framework within which the Screening Card was developed, the
results of the tool’s implementation in the first four countries, and preliminary
recommendations for reform. The team has also prepared a new website with access to higher
education
indicators
and
innovative
data
visualization
tools:
www.cmimarseille.org/highereducation.
The World Bank and CMI will launch the report and website on May 31st with videoconference
connections at the CMI and in the World Bank offices in Washington, Rabat, Jerusalem, Cairo,
Tunis, Algiers, and Beirut.
For interviews or press inquiries, please contact Jennifer Barry (jbarry@worldbank.org, +33
(0)6 1042 8561) or Silvia Marchionne (smarchionne@worldbank.org).